Neurodegenerative Disease and Oxidative Stress: Insights from an Animal Model of Parkinsonism

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are severe neurological diseases which collectively affect one of every five individuals. At first glance these disorders seem to have little in common. However, we will briefly review some of the reasons to believe that the diseases are interrelated and, thus, that insights from one can lead to a better understanding of the others. We then will explore a particular hypothesis regarding the mechanisms underlying the neuropathology of the disorders — that they involve an excess of reactive metabolites, including free radicals, which promote specific patterns of degeneration in different groups of individuals. Our discussion will focus on data that we have collected in our attempt to understand the basis of the selective vulnerability of dopamine (DA)-containing neurons in PD.